World Cup Online: Google vs Bing

It has been a while since I’ve done one of my comparison posts and with the World Cup less than a week away from kick-off, the timing seems ideal. So, the question is, which search engine will provide you with the most relevant and useful information regarding football’s biggest showpiece?

To decide which results are best, we need a barometer. Let’s look at tournament information to see which of the online giants will come up trumps. Let’s get stuck in then, it’s Google vs. Bing, up next…

On the Google SERP, as one would expect, the Fifa home page is the first result – and what better place to find answers to your tournament related questions? The page also includes the “News” results and I can see now that Rio Ferdinand has been ‘ruled out’ of the tournament. There is also an awesome little breakdown at the top of the page with the standings and upcoming games, and at the bottom of the page you will even find a recommended iGoogle gadget to add to your iGoogle page.

Bing’s first result goes to the same page as Google’s, but where Google’s second result takes browsers to the World Cup schedule, Bing will take you to Wikipedia. There are no news results on the page, so I have no idea about Rio Ferdinand’s injury. I need up to the minute coverage – this is important! 1 – 0 to Google then.

As the kick-off draws closer (4 days today) a strange sense of anticipation has fallen over Cape Town. I call it strange only because I’ve never felt anything like it before. It’s raining here in Cape Town today and that has cooled World Cup fever somewhat, even if it is just for today. World, watch away, we’re most definitely ready and I’d like to welcome you to our home. This is Africa, after all, and in case you’ve not heard, it’s a pretty special place.